# Soda pop, sodas, pop, floats - American terms vs. Canadian. **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 15, 2006, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/soda-pop-sodas-pop-floats-american-terms-vs-canadian/356774 "2006-05-15T00:28:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![eenerms](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/cdc98d/32.png) [@eenerms](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eenerms)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2006, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/soda-pop-sodas-pop-floats-american-terms-vs-canadian/356774/41 "2006-05-17T12:48:33Z")
When I moved to WisCONsin, I found out that a drink water fountain was called a bubbler.(Water is a soft drink right? 😉 ) ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2006, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/soda-pop-sodas-pop-floats-american-terms-vs-canadian/356774/42 "2006-05-17T14:20:52Z")
Balthisar writes: \> Fish and chips – I’ve never seen these in a cafeteria. Cafeteries are usually \> kind of gross, and I’m not sure I’d want to trust something as sensitive as fish \> to one. The fish, of course, is batter dipped and deep fried white ocean fish, \> such as cod. Cafeteries have some type of uniform emulsified fish paste with \> some type of breading material, you know, “fish sticks” and their ilk. Fish and \> chips stands are/were Great Britain’s most popular fast food – anyone know if \> they’ve been supplanted by McDonald’s yet? Here in the 'States, they’re a \> common item in bars-grill types of place, but you’ll never find 'em in a real \> seafood restaurant. If you want an authentic experience, skip the catsup on \> the chips and the honey-mustard on the fish, and just go for vinegar and salt. If \> you’re lucky enough to live near the Canadian border, you’ll even get that \> wonderful malted vinegar instead (I think that’s what the dark (non-cider) \> vinegar is, right? Yes, there are lots of local differences. I’ve seen fish and chips on the menu in cafeferias quite a few times. I haven’t seen fish fingers on menus lately. Yes, fish and chip stands are still common in the U.K. McDonalds and Burger Kings tend to be a little more noticeable since they can rent the more prominent locations, but fish and chips stands still exist. You can get malted vinegar in the U.S. ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2006, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/soda-pop-sodas-pop-floats-american-terms-vs-canadian/356774/43 "2006-05-17T20:03:27Z")
> [@Hari Seldon](#): > > My wife, from NY also called it soda and it is the same in Montreal. . What? No, it’s not. Nobody calls it “soda” here except for American transplants. We call them “soft drinks.” In the rest of Canada it’s called “pop.” ---
**Author:** ![deevee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/57b2e6/32.png) [@deevee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/deevee)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2006, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/soda-pop-sodas-pop-floats-american-terms-vs-canadian/356774/44 "2006-05-17T21:00:38Z")
> [@matt\_mcl](#): > > What? No, it’s not. Nobody calls it “soda” here except for American transplants. We call them “soft drinks.” In the rest of Canada it’s called “pop.” And it’s always Pepsi not Coke. What’s the deal with Montrealers and Pepsi? ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2006, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/soda-pop-sodas-pop-floats-american-terms-vs-canadian/356774/45 "2006-05-17T21:41:27Z")
I grew up in Western NY and accoring to the map it’s a strong “pop” place. Which makes sense, retroactively, since I would call it “soda” and everyone would assume I was talking about a float. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2006, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/soda-pop-sodas-pop-floats-american-terms-vs-canadian/356774/46 "2006-05-17T22:00:57Z")
> [@rocking chair](#): > > i learned very, very, quickly not to call a carbonated beverage “tonic” outside of new england. I imagine the taste of quinine works well for aversion therapy. ---
**Author:** ![vpriest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/49beb7/32.png) [@vpriest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vpriest)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2006, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/soda-pop-sodas-pop-floats-american-terms-vs-canadian/356774/47 "2006-05-17T23:32:46Z")
> [@matt\_mcl](#): > > What? No, it’s not. Nobody calls it “soda” here except for American transplants. We call them “soft drinks.” In the rest of Canada it’s called “pop.” Well, I was raised in the Yukon and we called it a ‘soft drink’. ---
**Author:** ![detop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bcef8e/32.png) [@detop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/detop)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2006, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/soda-pop-sodas-pop-floats-american-terms-vs-canadian/356774/48 "2006-05-17T23:48:56Z")
> [@deevee](#): > > And it’s always Pepsi not Coke. What’s the deal with Montrealers and Pepsi? It is because a while time ago (at least in the 1950s) Pepsi was cheaper than Coke, so most francophones drank it. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2006, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/soda-pop-sodas-pop-floats-american-terms-vs-canadian/356774/49 "2006-05-18T03:06:19Z")
> [@John Mace](#): > > It’s “tonic” in Boston, although I don’t know how common that is anymore. I’ve lived in New England (MA/NH) my entire life and the only people I’ve ever heard refer to soda as “tonic” are from a small few those born pre-WWII; even most of the elderly people I now know use soda too. I’m curious as to why this bit of lore persists given it hasn’t been in wide-spread usage for decades expect perhaps in tiny portions of New England. ---
**Author:** ![Indyellen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/indyellen/32/4176_2.png) [@Indyellen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indyellen)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2006, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/soda-pop-sodas-pop-floats-american-terms-vs-canadian/356774/50 "2006-05-18T22:36:55Z")
I grew up in Connecticut calling it “soda”. When I moved to Indiana at the age of 15, I was told not to call it “soda” or I would end up with soda water. I’ve lapsed strongly into saying “pop” most of the time (after 20+ years in Indiana) although quite a bit of the time I just say “coke” or “diet”. I also grew up with a difference between a root beer float & a Black Cow. A Black Cow was made with cola instead of root beer - otherwise they’re the same. I think I still have this little cookbook I bought at a school book fair when I was in 1st grade back in the early 70’s that describes it that way. Milkshakes were either that or shakes - unless I was ordering a Fribble at Friendly’s. 😉 I’m not going into the whole fries/chips thing. I lived around Detroit for a while so I got plenty of that up there. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2006, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/soda-pop-sodas-pop-floats-american-terms-vs-canadian/356774/51 "2006-05-19T00:04:53Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > Which would mean that Subway doesn’t make subs, since they don’t slice the bread through, and the Hoagie House I used to go to doesn’t make hoagies? Jimmy John’s, too, doesn’t slice the bread all the way through. In fact, I don’t think most submarine sandwich places around here do slice the bread through, unless it’s for one of those ginormous party subs. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2006, 12:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/soda-pop-sodas-pop-floats-american-terms-vs-canadian/356774/52 "2006-05-19T12:20:59Z")
> [@Hari Seldon](#): > > In fact, the best ones I’ve ever had were in a place called Hoagie Haven in Princeton. Cheese steak, with mayo and lettuce only, from Hoagie Haven is right up there with the best tastes ever. After I graduated I would go back just to pick up a Hoagie Haven cheesesteak, eat it somewhere on campus, and head back to the City. ---
**Author:** ![rjk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ed655f/32.png) [@rjk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjk)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2006, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/soda-pop-sodas-pop-floats-american-terms-vs-canadian/356774/53 "2006-05-20T20:46:32Z")
I’ve lived in both Saskatchewan and BC, and the things with your fish were always just chips, even if they were next to a hamburger. The thin crispy things were ‘potato chips’ anyplace except in a corner store, and on your plate you’d get the go-with-fish ones by default. Corn or tortilla chips always needed to be specified, unless they were right there in front of you. (Poutine is a whole other thing.) Also, just to nitpick, that’s _malt_ vinegar, not malted. It’s made from malt, just as wine vinegar is made from wine. ---
**Author:** ![JudithKD](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f6c823/32.png) [@JudithKD](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JudithKD)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2006, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/soda-pop-sodas-pop-floats-american-terms-vs-canadian/356774/54 "2006-05-21T00:09:01Z")
I grew up in SoCal, have lived in AZ, GA, FL, and now live in NH… A softdrink was soda or pop equally in L.A. when I was a kid. Sometimes it was “sodapop.” Here it seems to be “soda.” Soda water was “club soda” in my childhood home; I dont’ know what it is here. A drink of ice cream and milk was a “milk shake.” Here they seem to be “frappe.” (they usually have syrup too). No one in New England seems to have heard of Sand Dabs (a fish) or a Chili Size (an open-faced chili burger). Many have not heard of “churros” a mexican fried pastry… or malts, or black and white sundaes either, for that matter. At one point, I considered opening a “flat lander’s cafe” which featured all this stuff because I found it so amusing and occasionally frustrating. jkd ---
**Author:** ![bob\_loblaw](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/f19dbf/32.png) [@bob\_loblaw](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_loblaw)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2006, 10:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/soda-pop-sodas-pop-floats-american-terms-vs-canadian/356774/55 "2006-05-21T10:12:33Z")
> [@Otanabi](#): > > As far as Canadian vs American terms, I remember the confusion that resulted when Mom ordered eggs “over hard” in Ontario. She wanted the eggs with yolk intact, flipped over and cooked until the yolk was, well… hard. She got scrambled eggs. That’s how we found out about “well-done” eggs. I never did find out what the stuff was that accompanied the eggs. If you ordered eggs and toast, you would also get this little cup with a substance that looked like bacon grease, kind of grainy and gray in color. I never had the nerve to taste it. Anybody know what it was? i’ve lived in & around southwestern ontario my whole life, and have never heard of anyone getting scrambled eggs when ordering over-hard, except if the wait staff or kitchen just mixed up your order, in which case it would be quickly rectified. the paste-in-a-cup you describe is crêtons, and is a quebecois thing. the only place i’ve ever seen it in ontario is at a few delis / diners owned by transplanted quebeckers. it’s a mixture of ground pork, lard, and allspice. and it’s quite tasty. also, often overheard when a quebecois is ordering breakfast en englais, is something like “two eggs, side by each, two bacon in line of the plate, two toast and a pepsi. that’s it that’s all.” ---
**Author:** ![Gemrose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b19c9b/32.png) [@Gemrose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gemrose)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2011, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/soda-pop-sodas-pop-floats-american-terms-vs-canadian/356774/56 "2011-08-25T16:45:58Z")
Has anyone heard of this soda? I was digging out “stuff” in a Yooper basement and found 10 of these old bottles…The labels say Cleveland Cream , and the bottle says made in Canada. I wonder where these were manufactured and sold. Anyone out there collect old bottles? ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Angel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d26b3c/32.png) [@Johnny\_Angel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Angel)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2011, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/soda-pop-sodas-pop-floats-american-terms-vs-canadian/356774/57 "2011-08-25T19:46:19Z")
> [@MikeG](#): > > Hmm, Here in Chicago a black cow is another name for a root beer float, i.e. a glass of root beer with a scoop of vanilla ice cream in it. A shake is blended ice cream and milk and if it has malt extract added to it, it’s then called a malt. > > I’ve never seen a a float with milk added to it. It sounds nasty till I think about the ice cream melting and then I guess it’s not a problem. I’m from Chicago, and we always used Black Cow to mean a float made with Coke instead of root beer. ---
**Author:** ![Mk\_VII](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Mk\_VII](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mk_VII)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2011, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/soda-pop-sodas-pop-floats-american-terms-vs-canadian/356774/58 "2011-08-25T19:57:14Z")
McDonalds here insist on calling the miserable thin things they sell ‘frys’. Not to be compared with proper chips, which are increasingly difficult to find in the supermarkets if you want proper frying ones, not oven-cooked ones. The fish-and-chip shops still do proper ones, though. ‘Soda’ would mean either washing soda (NaCO2) or caustic soda (NaOH). Neither of them things you want to be drinking. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2011, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/soda-pop-sodas-pop-floats-american-terms-vs-canadian/356774/59 "2011-08-25T20:06:53Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > I’ve also encountered the phenomenon of Southerners calling all soda/pop drinks “coke” even when it’s not even cola. That’s because a true Southerner knows what you call “Coke” is actually “Co-cola.” ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2011, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/soda-pop-sodas-pop-floats-american-terms-vs-canadian/356774/60 "2011-08-25T20:13:20Z")
> [@Johnny\_Angel](#): > > I’m from Chicago, and we always used Black Cow to mean a float made with Coke instead of root beer. I’m from north of there (Wisconsin) and growing up in the 70s-80s we would get Black Cows from A&W. They were basically a blended rootbeer float. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/soda-pop-sodas-pop-floats-american-terms-vs-canadian/356774.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/soda-pop-sodas-pop-floats-american-terms-vs-canadian/356774.md?page=4)